The Fine Print

Sunday, February 13, 2011

The tunnel under Brockville...

By : Dennis Stein

Brockville is not only Ontario's oldest city, but also boasts the first and oldest railway tunnel in all of Canada, extending from its north portal at Pearl St, and emerging at Blockhouse Island. It runs directly under the Victoria Building of City Hall, with a total length exceeding 1700 ft. The Brockville and Ottawa Railway began construction of the tunnel in 1854, to provide access to the shipping port on the river, and link it to the timber trade to the north. The railway ran to Arnprior, and through the tunnel with special height-shortened diesel trains. It was completed in 1860, which is amazing considering the size of the project, and a lack of any major mechanised excavating equipment at the time. The Brockville and Ottawa railway was incorporated in 1953, and the company decided its rail line would not be complete without the tunnel. The first train made use of the tunnel in 1859, leaving the Grand Trunk Station almost a full year before the completion of the tunnel...
Recently, the deteriorating north end of the tunnel, where it emerges at Pearl St. and Tunnel Ave., is being restored. Workers catalogue stones, placing them in the open area behind the William St. Tim Horton's, while they rebuid the structure, and replace the original stonework. The city has budgeted funds for the work, and hopefully the fully restored tunnel entrance will be unveiled soon. The first 85 ft of the south end of the tunnel is open to visitors from spring to fall, complete with plaques to tell the story of the tunnel. Outside the tunnel sits a refurbished Canadian Pacific Railway caboose, which was donated to the city in 1987. CP Rail owned the tunnel after amalgomating with other smaller railways, and turned over the tunnel after it was no longer used to the city of Brockville. Great oak doors cover the tunnel's 14 ft. wide by 14ft. high mouths at either end, and brickwork covers the inside ceiling. Although the rail and ties are long gone, sold off after the tunnel stopped being used in the 1970's, one can still imagine the roar of locomotives emerging from the tunnel, carrying goods from ships docked at the river...

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The main console came to life, and LEDs began to light up everywhere in the darkened cockpit. It had been three months in cruise mode, and an audible beeping woke her from cryogenic sleep. Kara was drowsy, not with it yet. The computers came back online slowly, and the bay where she slept lit with a faint light. She was cold. Yawning and rubbing at her eyes, she sat up, sweeping blonde hair out of her face. The console was flashing with an indicator for a message waiting. Can’t even wait for me to be conscious, she thought sarcastically. There were several hours to spare before there was any need to make corrective maneuvers in her ship’s course in order to dock with the atoll, so she reached for her housecoat and told the galley computer she wanted her tea. It was ready in an instant, and she held the acrylic mug in both hands, feeling the warmth promised by her favorite morning drink. Was it morning? she mused briefly. It certainly didn’t feel like it. Reading the incoming messages, Kara shook her head. They knew she was the only one inbound to them, knew that she had their precious spares aboard. Still, the bullshit. She tapped out a quick reply, and headed to get dressed, the shower on board being little more than a tight closet. Kara spent a lot of time to make sure she was as well groomed as possible, an ingrained idea that she followed on a daily basis. It was better than nothing, and she always arrived smelling much better than her male counterparts. ‘Mailers’ were a group that were different than most others. Tough. Able to weather any storm. She hadn’t even glanced out at the stars today, she suddenly thought. Something she normally loved about these long runs between humanity when Kara first took this job. As the shower door closed and sealed, the small ship sped forward, having dropped from lightspeed, gliding effortlessly through the vacuum of space…

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